Jeffrey
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Movie Reviews of Jeffrey
Movie Review: I laughed so hard my stomach ached!
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw this movie when it came out in the theaters back in 1995, and I simply loved it. Steven Weber plays Jeffrey very believably, considering Mr. Weber is in fact straight. Patrick Stewart also plays his character very well; it's a very unexpected role for him to play, and I like it when actors and actresses play against what audiences expect of them. While the plot is actually pretty predictable, the sheer humor makes that ok. I totally recommend this movie to anyone who wants a good laugh.Movie Review: Jeffrey
Summary: 4 Stars
Very funny, poignant and interesting awell depicted life in gay society for the timeMovie Review: "Ta-da! That's it! Case closed."
Summary: 3 Stars
Few people can write one-liners as Paul Rudnick can, and the best thing about this independent 1995 feature is that he wrote wonderful lines for Patrick Stewart and Sigourney Weaver that allowed these two superb actors some of the funniest lines they've ever had a chance to say on screen. Stewart plays the titular protagonist's best friend, a very stylish and very cutting Manhattan interior decorator; Weaver, in an absolutely inspired manic turn, is a high-energy New Age self-help guru who can barely conceal her contempt for her followers. Although the whole film is worth watching just to see them do their bits, they don;t get nearly enough screen time; unfortunately, Rudnick allotted far more time to the angst-ridden indecisions of a handsome NYC cater-waiter (Steven Weber), who has decided to give up sex entirely because of the AIDS crisis just before he meets a hunky bartender named Steve (Michael T. Weiss) who is absolutely ga-ga for him. We're stuck watching Jeffrey hem and haw for the entirety of the film when you can easily figure out his final decision far in advance. This is especially true given that Jeffrey's alternative to sleeping with Steve is returning to Wisconsin, which is spoken of in the film as if it were the northern coast of Greenland. (It never seem to occur to Rudnick that there might be cities, gay men, and even pride parades in the Midwest.) Although Weber tries hard with his underwritten part, Jeffrey remains a cipher aside from his immediate dilemma; clearly intended to be something of a gay urban Everyman, he is almost singularly devoid of personality. Although hardly given much firmer character outlines, Weiss fares much better by emphasizing Steve's charm and romanticism. The basic theme of the movie is nothing you wouldn't find in any Broadway lyric by Jerry Herman or Kander & Ebb: what good is sitting alone in your room when you've got to ring them bells, because the best of times is now? With Christine Baranski in a tiny but hilarious cameo as a very good-natured society doyenne, and Nathan Lane (too much as usual for the movies) as a frenetic gay priest.Movie Review: Think about this movie....
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw this movie and enjoyed it immensely the first time. It was funny, I liked Patrick Stewart's over-the-top performance, and hey, the leads aren't bad to look at. But then the more I thought about this movie the more I came away from it with problems about the way gay men are portrayed in this film.My primary discontent with this movie is Jeffrey's conception of "love." Jeffrey swears off of dating just because he's afraid of the potential consequences of sex -- as if love and sex are so absolutely intertwined that one really cannot exist without the other. Jeffrey basically says "why bother to meet new people if I know I will be refusing to have sex with them?" There's no hint of him even considering that there may be more to men than rock-hard abs and what's between their legs.
Then he meets up with this hot guy at the gym. The sexual tension between the two is palpable, but because of Jeffrey's new resolution, he's determined to head it off at the pass. But he can't... because his new friend is *just so hot.* Heck, they kiss within five minutes of meeting each other.
What does that say about gay men? Jeffrey's pledge is broken not because he's met a *great* guy, it's broken because he's met a *hot* guy. This just further reinforces that notion that men need nothing but the sexual appeal to sustain a "relationship."
Indeed, very little of this movie shows us anything about the two main characters actually learning anything about the other's personality or character or values or morals or anything. All they seem to know about each other is that they are sexually attracted to each other.
So, yes, it's a fun movie to watch. Its initial appeal is amusing. But following that, if you think too much (like I apparently do), it can get difficult to accept.
Movie Review: Well intentioned, but too whiny
Summary: 3 Stars
A gay man (Stephen Webber) swears off love because he is afraid of AIDS despite a powerful attraction to a man (Michael T. Weiss) he meets at his health club. "Jeffrey" started out as a play and it shows: characters make speeches directly to the camera and it is filled with generally amusing little vignettes that probably work well in a theater revue but don't build a cohesive film narrative. The characters seem to be delivering monologues to each other rather than having conversations.
All of this can be overcome if the writing is good enough (as it often is), but the central character of Jeffrey is more problematic. He spends the whole movie running from relationships and inadvertently treating his would-be boyfriend rather shabbily, and I think we are meant to identify with him, but he is surrounded by much wiser, more emotionally healthy characters who implore him to do the right thing. As a result, I was just exasperated with Jeffrey's whiny self-centeredness and unconvinced by his conversion at the end. The entire cast does a great job. It's a hoot to see Patrick Stewart as a flamboyant gay man, but he doesn't just play it for laughs; his Sterling comes through as the most sharply defined personality in the film.